Originally Posted by
liz
Along with others, I thought there were promising signs on display. As you would expect from sides in their first hit out of the season (and with lots of senior experience and class missing from both sides), it was a bit scrappy at times and some poor turnovers. I though the difference between the two sides, especially in the first half, was that the Swans were able to string together more clean passages of play and deliver the ball in to their forward line in a more constructive way. In the second half the Giants gained the ascendency, larger from their ruck dominance, but I don't think that's a concern for us given who we had (or didn't have) in the ruck in the second half.
My best two were Rampe, who looked very fit, very sharp, and maybe a tiny bit quicker, and Papley, who just played an all round solid game. The passage of play that led to one of Hayward's goals was my play of the day. It looked like the two knew exactly what they were doing - Hayward hang back and let Papley win the ball under pressure, and backed himself to finish with his class.
I loved seeing Mills in the middle. That was exactly how he played at NEAFL and U18 level before he was drafted (mostly as an U17, given he was injured for most of the year before he was drafted). It's good to see he can still do it, and in stronger company (albeit not quite proper AFL level). I think he's a far more natural contested ball winner than Heeney. He's a "see ball, get ball" type, whereas Heeney's instincts are more to hang off the packs and shark the loose ball, or pounce on the first possession winner with one of his aggressive tackles. I think he's better value as the first receiver of the ball, rather trying to win the ball himself in packs.
All the new guys who got a go showed something. McInerney's dash may have caught the eye the most, but there was a moment just before he went on his two bounce foray that caught my eye. The ball was in the air headed straight into Mumford's outstretched hands until McInerney decided he could get to the contest and effect a spoil. He didn't hold back at launching himself at Mumford's body, which was impressive given their size differential.
Rowbottom went hard at the contest every time it was his turn. And there was a ball-busting tackle by Reynolds that caught my eye. Both are likely to spend most - maybe all - of the season in the NEAFL but they showed glimpses of what attracted the club to them.
Another player I was impressed by who hasn't received much acknowledgement on here was O'Riordan. I don't think he played at all in the first quarter, but after coming on I thought he controlled the back half pretty well, used his pace to get to lots of ground balls, kept a cool head and used the ball well. Given Smith seems likely to miss the start of the season, I reckon a couple of solid outings in the official practice games will see him earn a spot for round 1, and then it's up to him to prove he belongs.
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